Alex Vasquez

At a recent Boston College retreat, I invited a group of scholar-leaders to explore a radical idea: What if you are the leader you’ve been waiting for? In a time when higher education needs courage, imagination, and hope, this reflection calls us to stop waiting for change “out there” and begin leading from within — with self-awareness, reflection, and community.

"Higher education leaders don’t need more outside advice—they need trusted partners who understand their institution from the inside out. Through our Integrated Advisory Partnership, Integrated Strategy Consulting offers a fractional Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) model that provides high-context counsel, strategic alignment, and real-time support to help universities achieve greater clarity, momentum, and long-term success.

We often say “hope is not a strategy”—but what if it’s the heart of one? Drawing on Jessica Riddell’s Hope Circuits, we see hope not as wishful thinking, but as a disciplined, intentional stance for navigating complexity. Hope invites leaders to pause, think differently, do differently, tolerate discomfort, expand the circle, and build intentional community. It is what turns uncertainty into possibility and aligns action with vision. As Riddell reminds us: Hope is a circuit we build together.